The interior is as good, if not better, than anything I've seen/felt in any Audi/BMW. It handles like a go-kart on the AMG suspension and looks the biz too.

I'm really fancying a Estroil-type blue one with the AMG pack for a September delivery now. £180+VAT a month is pretty fantastic. Theirs is a little more a month, as my brother specced the Night pack and 15k pa mileage. The 180 CDI has 110bhp - which doesn't seem allot, but the car felt nippy enough - I'm going to see what sort of deal I can find for the 220cdi or even better, the 250CDI.

Merc have come a long way in the last few years. The Wife's SLK is light years ahead of the previous model. The A Class with AMG kit looks a nice car. Just wish Merc had done a 3 door. You still have to be careful which A Class you go for though. Some are fitted with a shitty 1.5 CDI Renault lump.

My friend lent me his 2 weeks ago for a few days. I really enjoyed it, it drives nice, looks great, gets a lot of attention (surprisingly) and its REALLY economical - my average for 3 days was 47mpg and that was all town driving...

In the beauty competition of the new A3, F20 1 series and the new A class the A class is the best by a very large margin.

However, when it came to the driving experience of all three I found the A Class was the worst by quite a large margin. It feels like it is a few generations behind in terms of development compared to the other 2. This was purely my opinion when i test drove an A250 with all the AMG fandangos on it.

In the beauty competition of the new A3, F20 1 series and the new A class the A class is the best by a very large margin.

However, when it came to the driving experience of all three I found the A Class was the worst by quite a large margin. It feels like it is a few generations behind in terms of development compared to the other 2. This was purely my opinion when i test drove an A250 with all the AMG fandangos on it.

Yep have to agree with this, when I saw the pics I was looking forward to it as it's by far the best looking out of the new batch of premium hot hatches but most of the reviews so far have been pretty luke warm about it citing terrible ride quality and so so driving dynamics, shame they seem to have got the looks right but a lot of other things wrong.

Still looking foward to seeing what the proper AMG version will do though.

For some reason a lot of car journalists seem to come down on Merc. The C Class coupe was downgraded from 3 to 2 stars recently by What Car? and the review is simply inaccurate, citing harsh and unsettled ride, drab and bland interior, poor refinement, wind and road noise. etc. My car reflects none of those things! So, I'd take reviews with a pinch of salt tbh. I'd drive the A class before making any judgement.

They are consistently aimed at stupid and/or old people who are incapable of making an informed choice. It's like Top Gear was 25 years ago, where stars are awarded or lost on boot space.

Considering that target audience, they judge a car on its merits to keep a Werthers originals packet upright, store a zimmer frame in the boot or at being beige. I read a test recently of the top-of-the-line AMG edition, clearly aimed at 20-30 year olds who want a stiff ride, and they marked it down specifically for a stiff ride and looking too sporty? So, you request the top-end sports model and complain it's too sporty? Genius.

What! may be good for DSLR and vacuum cleaner reviews, but whilst I still have petrol in my veins (and not Horlicks) I'll be taking notice of reviews from enthusiast publications.

The C Class is ok but the 7G is a bit ponderous and the ride is a bit too hard. I had a 2011 C250CDI Sport estate and it was on 17s too. The engine is also very noisy but all that extra power (over the C200/220) must generate a bit more of a bang in the chamber. I had a C180 Petrol and C200CDI loaner while it was in for service and the 200 diesel was a lot quieter.

To be honest I spent 18 months wishing I had gone for either the C220CDI Elegance or C250/350 Petrol Elegance.

However, when it came to the driving experience of all three I found the A Class was the worst by quite a large margin. It feels like it is a few generations behind in terms of development compared to the other 2. This was purely my opinion when i test drove an A250 with all the AMG fandangos on it.

Sorry but not a chance!

Yes, I may be a bit of a Merc fan but I'm not actually sure of the A-Class as I had an issue with it's driving position which felt too long in arm/short in leg. I was going to buy one before buying the E Class on the basis that the rest of the car felt so good, but this made it a no-go for me.

However, having owned a 135i a couple of years ago and, whilst a previous-gen car, the A250 (petrol) I drove recently was, to me, dynamically better than the 135i (excluding engine as the straight 6 BMW was obviously in another league). The interior quality was also much better.

Now, the new A may not be quite as good to drive as a new 1 series or A3 (I can't comment as I've not driven either), but it's certainly not many generations behind. Also, as you say, the looks alone of the A are much better and with the 1 series looking far from pretty and the A3 worthy of a solid What Car report as described by Sheps

...oops, I dropped off then.......even with a few dynamic deficiencies I still think I'd go for the A Class.

Took delivery of a B200 CDI Sport last month and its miles ahead of the old cars.

The A looks very nice as well, bit small for a man my size but still tempting as a run around. Just dont know if I could live with FWD and I think the AMG model might be too pricey at first. But then wait for some to filter through and its a tempting option

Its just case if I can get the kids in the back behind me as even in the e90 its a squeeze as I sit so far back.

The B is great the DSG box and toys are superb even simply things like autohold on the brakes to save you having to put it in park at long stops on traffic lights. As is auto handbrake when putting in park which it does automatically as soon as you turn the car off.

However it does have few fails. Mostly with electronics for example the reverse camera only works if radio is on and same for bluetooth. Crazy as with radio off the screen actually stays on just goes black with small digital clock in corner. Bad system design that engaging reverse doesnt power it up.

Same for bluetooth on e90 once phone is paired even with radio off it will patch the call through on Merc it doesnt even connect to the BT unit.

Small things but still a nice car and tons of room. IMO nicest looking mini mpv out there and resonably quick as well and 56mpg on long runs not bad as well

It's all personal preference, but you are clearly wrong in your choice Palmnuts

Having also owned the previous shape 1 series I can honestly say that the new one is a completely different driving experience. I actually hated my previous 1 series so much that I stated it was the worst car I ever owned on several occasions. It was by pure coercion that I ended up driving one and after the let down of the A class earlier that afternoon I really could not believe how much better the car was over its predecessor but also the Merc.

I also owned an 8P A3 and was very impressed by the new A3 on the new MQB chassis. Again it is light years ahead of the old one. However, the 1.8 that I test drove was not great. I dare say the Mk7 golf and new Leon are also very good on this chassis but will not stake my house on it as I have driven neither.

As for the A class. I first saw the car at Geneva last year. I was absolutely smitten by it, so much so that I immediately started pestering the local MB dealer for more details when I got back. I waited nearly a year for a test drive being drip fed bits of info about possible pricing, engines and options. However, the eventual test drive really was one of the biggest disappointments of my motoring life. Dynamically it may be better than previous generations of its competitors but it's not a patch on either the current 1 or A3... I'm not even going to go into the gearbox in the A250 . That thing really does feel like some old technology.

There were lots of things I did like but as I spend at least 2 hours a day in my car every day actually driving it rather than throwing it loving glances out of the window or playing with the gadgets while stroking my soft touch plastics and mock carbon dash (just want to state for the record that i loved the exterior and the interior, far from bland). Therefor I want something that drives as well as possible to suit my style, needs and wants.

I never read the motoring press so I don't know what they have said. I like to keep an open mind and form my own opinions based on my own experiences. I also don't look on any specific brands with the rosť tinted spectacles that some others do. Neither do i completely write a brand off for 1 bad product. A good car is a good car to me no matter the badge or price tag and the same goes for a bad one.

When the kids are a bit older (the a class is far too small for children and prams) maybe I'll get an Aclass for my wife. I never drive her car but I do have to look at it on the drive all the time so that could be the best of both worlds.

+1, I think this will be the wife's next car on a lease jobby-have had a quick browse but can't get anywhere near that price, please share!

My brother has a sourcing/sub-leasing company. He gets his deals through other middle men and direct from the manufactures. If you guys want to PM me with what spec you would like - I will see what sort of deal he can get y'all.